Change of Course
by lysachan
Summary: Alex is celebrating Thanksgiving a little differently than before. No spoilers. AO femslash. Updated and complete.
1. Change of Course

Olivia Benson walked slowly forward, her steps echoing in the empty hallway. She wasn't quite sure what exactly she was doing there, but her journey took her closer and closer to Alex Cabot's office. Captain Cragen had told his squad to take the Thanksgiving off - in fact, he'd threatened to fire everybody who ignored his command. Olivia had reluctantly picked up her coat walked out.

Thanksgiving. Yet another holiday Olivia didn't really celebrate; there really was no point in doing that alone. Elliot had politely asked her to join him and his family for the holiday, but she'd refused on the plea that Kathy already had her hands full in organizing everything.

So, there she was, standing outside of Alex's office, not knowing what the heck she was supposed to do next. At the time it'd seemed like a good idea to stop by before heading home and wish the ADA 'happy Thanksgiving', but now she just felt utterly ridiculous. Deep down, she knew damn well why she was standing there fidgeting, but she refused to acknowledge it.

The door was open a crack and just when Olivia was about to raise her hand and knock, she heard a muffled voice coming from the room. She turned to leave, not wanting to invade the counselor's privacy, but the sudden change of tone in Alex's voice made her stop. She felt like a criminal as she stepped a little closer to the door and listened.

"Mother, this is ridiculous!" Alex was clearly talking on the phone, sounding irritated. "Look, I don't need your help. I want to fix my private life myself, thank you." That sparkled Olivia's interest.

"I don't care, he's the dullest person I've ever met and I don't want him there!" Olivia could sense a hint of desperation in the other woman's voice. There was a long pause and finally Alex sighed. "I'm seeing someone," the blonde finally uttered and Olivia closed her eyes, a bang of jealousy hitting her - hard.

"It doesn't matter who they are mom," Alex's voice was calmer again. "No mother, _she_ is a detective." Olivia's breath caught in her throat and she inched just a little bit closer to the door.

"Her name is Olivia," Alex continued casually. "Oh, for crying out loud, do I ask her to call you! Why would I be kidding?" Olivia wasn't sure if she was dreaming or just needed to get her hearing checked out. The fact that Alex used _her_ as an escape rout felt surprisingly satisfying.

"What I do with my life is none of your business!" Alex raised her voice, causing Olivia to take a few involuntary steps backwards. "Fine, I'm not coming then. This year my Thanksgiving's officially cancelled!" The ADA hung up on her mother, cursing heavily under her breath.

Olivia decided it was best if she didn't bother Alex at a time like this and walked quietly back to the elevators. With one last glance at the partially closed door, she wondered if Alex had ever celebrated Thanksgiving alone before.

- - - -

Alex was pacing nervously in her living room, not knowing what to do with herself. Her plans had flown out the window the moment she'd finished the phone conversation with her mother, and now that she'd had time to think about it, she realized how unbelievably stupid her decision had been.

She had no food reserved for the next few days and she really wasn't sure if she was able to keep herself occupied without work. Earlier, on a whim, she'd almost called her mother and pegged for forgiveness, but in the end her stubbornness had won: she'd spend Thanksgiving on her own this year and prove herself she was perfectly capable of doing so.

As the long minutes ticked by, she realized how impossible the task ahead of her was. And for the first time she noticed she didn't really have any friends; no one to ask to come and save her from this misery. She threw herself on the cough and stared at the ceiling.

"Worst Thanksgiving ever," she muttered.

A sudden knock on the door startled her, and for a moment she wasn't sure if it'd simply been a product of her own imagination. When it sounded again, she leaped off the couch and practically ran to the door. A nervous-looking detective stood in the hallway, holding a big brown paper bag.

"Olivia." It was more of a statement than a question, and the brunette smiled at her nervously.

"Hi, Alex. I...I overheard that you're spending Thanksgiving on your own this year, so I was wondering if we could...," Olivia's voiced trailed off and she blushed slightly.

"Yes?" Alex encouraged the other woman, silently thanking whatever higher power for sending Olivia to her doorstep.

"So, I was wondering if you'd like to spend it with me," Olivia said quickly. "I have food," she added and gestured towards the bag.

_Thank you, thank you, thank you_, Alex rejoiced and smiled brightly at the detective.

"I'd really like that," she said sincerely and Olivia let out a sigh of relief. Alex stepped aside from the doorway, letting Olivia inside.

"I'm not much of a cook, but I suppose we'll come up with something," Olivia said a little apologetically, but Alex brushed it off.

"We'll manage," she assured, still looking at Olivia in awe. "You are a savior, you know that?"

"Uh, I- I just wanted to help," Olivia stammered, blushing again, and Alex found her absolutely adorable. For a while they stood staring at each other, neither of them knowing what to do next.

"You heard me when I was talking to my mother, didn't you?" Alex asked suddenly. For a moment Olivia just blinked, obviously trying to come up with a good enough reason for her earlier eavesdropping.

"Yeah, I did," she eventually confessed, her shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry, I really didn't meant to intrude, I-," Alex's soft fingers on her lips stopped Olivia. She stared at the beautiful blue eyes in front of her and swallowed.

"It's fine Olivia," Alex said, her fingers still firmly on Olivia's lips. "Besides, makes it easier for me to ask you to pretend to be my girlfriend sometime in the future," she chuckled, feeling sheepish.

"Do I necessarily have to pretend?" Olivia asked quietly, locking eyes with Alex. Alex felt her pulse getting more rapid and she closed her eyes momentarily. Then she smiled, giving Olivia a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"No, no you don't," Alex said softly and looked at Olivia again. The detective was smiling back at her and Alex felt comfortably warm inside.

"C'mon, I'll show you the kitchen." She took Olivia's hand in hers and led the brunette further into the apartment, feeling much better than only ten minutes earlier.


	2. Pancakes and Whipped Cream

Olivia didn't even have time to knock before the door in front of her flew open; a very cheerful-looking Assistant District Attorney grinned widely at the detective and pulled her inside. Alex's lips quickly landed on hers and all coherent thinking became practically impossible.

"Hi," Alex said once she pulled back.

"Hi yourself," Olivia murmured, her arms still tightly around the blonde. "Missed me?" She pecked Alex playfully.

"Always," Alex breathed and claimed Olivia's lips for another making out session.

It took them fifteen minutes to get from the hallway to the kitchen, but finally they reached the intended destination. Alex went through the cabinets and Olivia's smile was amused as she watched the blonde lay various groceries on the table.

"What?" Alex arched her eyebrow at the detective.

"What are we making exactly?" Olivia asked, gesturing at the bottles and jars on the kitchen counter.

"Pancakes."

"Pancakes?"

"Pancakes."

"Oh, okay. Sure you wanna eat pancakes on New Year's Eve?" Olivia chuckled.

"Positive. It's going to be a tradition," Alex stated, placing a carton of cream next to the jars.

"A tradition, huh?" Olivia said, looking curiously at the other woman.

"Yeah. Remember Thanksgiving last month? After all those, well, rather pathetic attempts to make something a bit more fancy, we ended up eating pancakes. A little charred pancakes, but pancakes nevertheless." Alex babbled, searching for a few bowls and a frying pan. "So, from now on, whenever we're celebrating something together, we'll eat pancakes," she added grinning. Olivia laughed and hugged the blonde from behind.

"Sounds like a plan," she whispered and kissed Alex on the temple before letting go. "So, what's my task this time then?"

"You can whip the cream," Alex said and handed the detective the cream and a bowl. The blonde herself hopped to sit on the kitchen table. At Olivia's disapproving look she snorted. "Whipping the cream takes the longest. Making the pancake batter is a one-minute job."

"Uh-huh," Olivia chuckled and shook her head.

Soon the cream was nicely light and white. The brunette scooped a spoonful of the creamy goodness from the bowl and offered it to Alex. As the blonde leaned forward and was about to lick the spoon, Olivia suddenly pulled back and the whipped cream ended up on Alex's nose.

"Cute." Alex glared at her, but there was no malice in her voice.

"That's what you get for being lazy and making your girlfriend do all the work," Olivia grinned, licking the spoon clean herself. She threw it on the sink and walked to Alex. Standing between the blonde's legs, she tilted her head slightly to the side and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Give me paper towels, will you?" Alex said, her nose still covered in the white and sticky stuff. Olivia just looked at her, eyes sparkling and an almost childish grin on her face. Finally she leaned forward and slowly kissed the cream away.

"Hmmm, not bad," Olivia said with a straight face and Alex swallowed nervously. She grabbed the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white. Olivia slowly licked her lips and Alex couldn't hold back anymore; she grabbed the detective's shirt and pulled her closer for a passionate kiss. When they broke apart, the grin on Olivia's face could only be described as mischievous.

"Well, that was just plain sneaky." Alex's voice was hoarse and she captured the detective's lips once again with her own. Olivia's hands found their way under Alex's shirt in no time, and the electrifying contact made the blonde's skin raise in goosebumps; she buried her own hands in the detective's hair, inching her as close as possible. Olivia kissed her way down Alex's neck, opening the buttons of the blonde's shirt at the same time and pushing it down her shoulders. She returned her attention to Alex's lips, kissing her gently, while her hand made its way slowly to the zipper of Alex's jeans.

Carefully she laid Alex down on her back, never breaking the kiss, and climbed on top of her. Alex tugged Olivia's shirt free from her pants and pulled it over the brunette's head. She couldn't help moaning as her own skin made contact with Olivia's.

Alex felt Olivia's hand travel southwards and she whimpered impatiently, only managing to make Olivia slow down her movement. At the waistband of Alex's panties Olivia stopped, as if waiting for a permission to continue, and Alex groaned in frustration. She could feel Olivia smile against her neck and the hand started moving again.

"Oh, my God," was all Alex could utter before her world exploded into tiny pieces.

- - - -

"I'll never be able to look at this room the same way again," Alex chuckled, drawing lazy circles on Olivia's naked abdomen with her hand. The brunette just grinned, gently stroking Alex's hair.

"We should probably get up and dressed if we want to see the ball dropping. It's almost midnight," Olivia said, but didn't move a muscle.

"Yeah," Alex said and raised her head so she was able to give a kiss to the woman laying beneath her. "You know, I've never done it in a kitchen before," she stated and pursed her lips.

"I'm very glad to hear that." Olivia laughed and sat up. She pulled her shirt back on and helped Alex down. For a moment Alex just stared at Olivia's well-muscled body as the detective picked up their clothes from the floor. Olivia glanced up and noticed Alex ogling her. She arched her eyebrow and slowly stood up.

"Do we really need to see the ball dropping?" Alex asked innocently, but her slightly shallow breathing gave her away. Olivia's smile was amused and soon the clothes fell back on the floor.

"What about pancakes?" Olivia asked teasingly, her own pulse starting to race again just by looking at the gorgeous woman in front of her.

"Fuck the pancakes." Alex's voice was uncharacteristically low. She walked out of the kitchen with a sultry look in her eyes. Olivia was about to follow, but before she could take a step, Alex's voice from a distance stopped her.

"And Olivia? Bring the whipped cream."


End file.
